NEW YORK, NY — This coming Sunday, July 26th, up in Cooperstown, New York, Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones, two of three HOF Class of 2026 inductees along with Jeff Kent, will be immortalized into The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
As thousands of fans of all walks of life plan on traveling to upstate NY to experience a memorable Cooperstown Hall of Fame Sunday in person—many who have flights booked out of the Caribbean—Latino Sports is carrying on our special tradition of honoring each Latino Major League Baseball player inducted into The Hall.
And that’s by celebrating Beltrán and Jones with you.
Join Latino Sports on Sunday, July 26th as we head up to Cooperstown to witness history first-hand for Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Kent – Image Credit: Latino Sports
For those interested in witnessing Hall of Fame history first-hand by attending the 2026 HOF Induction Ceremony this Sunday afternoon (7/26) on the grounds of The Clark Sports Center— located just one mile south of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown—Latino Sports is offering seats on our coach bus that leaves early Sunday morning from the South Bronx (6:30am ET) and returns late in the evening (10pm-11pm ET).
Latino Sports HOF Bus Trip: Learn more by clicking here
Earlier this year on January 20th, a Tuesday night, Beltrán and Jones, surrounded by family, loved ones and friends, each received a phone call from secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Jack O’Connell.
Not just some call to catch up and chat but ones that would officially cement the two Latino icons together as baseball royalty in the sports’ pantheon known as the Hall of Fame.
Welcome To The Hall, Carlos and Andruw
Carlos Beltrán: Nine-time All-Star, Three-time Gold Glover, Two-time Silver Slugger, 1999 American League LatinoMVP Rookie of the Year Award recipient, 1999 AL Rookie of the Year, 2013 Roberto Clemente Award recipient, 2017 World Series Champion
- 20 seasons (1998-2017) for the Royals, Astros, Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees and Rangers
- Retired as one of just four players with at least 400 home runs, 300 steals and three Gold Glove Awards
- Ranks fourth all-time among switch-hitters in home runs (435), third in RBI (1,587) and sixth in hits (2,725)
- Lone switch-hitter in history with at least 1,500 runs scored, 1,500 RBI, 300 homers and 300 steals
Andruw Jones: 10-time Gold Glover, Five-time All-Star, 2005 American League Silver Slugger
- 17 seasons (1996-2012) for the Braves, Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox and Yankees
- Bursted onto the national scene as a 19-year-old in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series, with a two-homer game against the Yankees, becoming the fourth player in history to hit two home runs in his first World Series game, the youngest player to homer in WS history and just the second to homer in each of his first two WS at-bats
- Helped the Braves qualify for the postseason every year from 1996-2005 and became one of just three outfielders in history to launch at least 400 home runs while winning at least 10 Gold Glove Awards
- No outfielder in history has a better career defensive WAR than Jones’ 24.4
Carlos Beltrán is the third all-time Hall of Famer set to have a Mets cap on their HOF plaque (Tom Seaver, 1992 & Mike Piazza, 2016) while Andruw Jones will become the 12th all-time Hall of Famer with a Braves cap (Tommy McCarthy, 1946, Rabbit Maranville, 1954, Billy Hamilton, 1961), Warren Spahn, 1973, Eddie Mathews, 1978, Hank Aaron, 1982, Phil Niekro, 1997, Bobby Cox, 2014, Tom Glavine, 2014, John Smoltz, 2015, Chipper Jones, 2018) – Image Credit: Nancy L. Ford/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
From National League East division rivals—Beltrán, 49, in his fourth year on BBWAA’s Hall of Fame ballot, while Jones, approximately one day older, rounding out his ninth year of eligibility for HOF consideration—to now together entering the Hall of Fame, respectively with a Mets and Braves hat on their HOF plaque.
“I love it because we are two guys that played in the same generation, that same era,” Beltrán said in a recent interview with Latino Sports at Fanatics Fest in New York City after signing for hundreds of fans.
“Andruw is a day older than me. We competed a lot on the East Coast with the Mets and Atlanta and it was fun. So I’m happy to have a brother that I’m going to share the stage with.”
Jones, who we had the opportunity of interviewing earlier this month during MLB’s All-Star Game festivities in Philadelphia, also described Beltrán as a brother and noted that the two have already helped one another battle through the nerves leading up to this weekend.
“It’s just a great honor to be in that group and get selected to the Hall of Fame,” Jones said at Citizens Bank Park as he overlooked the NL and AL All-Stars take batting practice with several stars stopping by to wish him well and congratulate Jones for all that’s deservingly in store.
“Just looking forward to enjoying every bit of it, taking everything out of it, and trying not to leave all the special people in my life out of the speech. But just enjoy it with my guy Carlos and all the great players that are there, that stuck with me and a lot of guys that I idolized, guys that I played with and against.”
As for the number one player Beltrán, of Manati, Puerto Rico—the sixth MLB player raised in Puerto Rico to be inducted into The Hall—idolized throughout his upbringing that resulted in a Hall of Fame career on and off the diamond?
The Great One: Roberto Clemente.
“It’s an incredible feeling, no doubt about that. Growing up in Puerto Rico and following Roberto Clemente’s footsteps and the guys that also have made it into the Hall of Fame, I feel extremely humble for the opportunity and to play for the years that I did,” Beltrán said of becoming the sixth Puerto Rican HOF great—joining Clemente (1973, Carolina), Orlando Cepeda (1999, Ponce), Roberto Alomar (2011, Ponce), Iván Rodríguez (2017, Manati), and Edgar Martínez (2019, born in NY, grew up on the island).
“To be able to make it to the big leagues, you know, that was the first step. And after that, being able to play for 20 years, no doubt gave me the opportunity to accumulate numbers that, thank God, I got the consideration to be in that group.”
Like Beltrán representing his homeland of Puerto Rico to the most extraordinary degree, Jones, hailing from Willemstad, Curaçao, had done the same and is now making his way into The Hall in historic fashion as the first-ever Curaçao-born MLB player to be inducted.
“When I started my journey as a professional baseball player, I inspired a lot of young guys by making it early at a young age and giving them a chance (vision) that they can do it too,” he said of the feat for all of Curaçao.
“And, you know, since I made it, there’s been a big group (from Curaçao and the Caribbean) that kept going and made it to the Major Leagues and became All Stars, became Gold Glovers, and became champions. It was just a good start for me and I ran with it because I wanted to just help other kids believe that they can do it too.”
Jones went on further saying, “I had talent but I was not the best player. I took advantage of the opportunity that they gave me and that’s all I tell all these kids:
‘Take advantage of the opportunity that they give you, so you can go out there and chase the dream that you have.'”
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